Review: Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Release Date: July 3rd, 2012
Hardcover: 292 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen

Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair. . . .

Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily doesn't believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland and immediately falls under his spell.

Peter is unlike anyone she's ever known. Impetuous and brave, he both scares and enthralls her. As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland's inhabitants, Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily. Soon, she is risking everything--her family, her future--to be with him. When she is faced with marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she's always known and running away to an uncertain future with Peter.

With enemies threatening to tear them apart, the lovers seem doomed. But it's the arrival of Wendy Darling, an English girl who's everything Tiger Lily is not, that leads Tiger Lily to discover that the most dangerous enemies can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart.

I love Peter Pan. I really loved reading the classic and the Disney movie is also sweet. So when I heard about Tiger Lily, I was instantly interested in it. I love such spin-offs that show more to the secondary characters. Of course, this one is also an adaptation to the classic, and this may or may not please readers. It really is a novel that readers will either love or hate.

The Plot: Tiger Lily's story is sad. So it is surely a sad story told from Tinker Bell's point of view about a girl who loves a boy who loves someone else. The story is believeable, although everyone who has read the classic will think that Anderson didn't do it justice. She does changes some important things but keep in mind that this is an adaptation. The writing is beautiful, though. It will certain break many hearts.

The Characters: Tiger Lily is an interesting character. She is strong and independent and because of it, she doesn't know how to show her feelings. Unfortunately she learns that if you wait too long, someone else won't wait. She learned it the hard way and I think people will be able to relate to her situation. Tinker Bell is the narrator and I think that gives a nice new spin to the story. Peter Pan is simply Peter Pan and I admittedly liked him the most in this novel. I really liked the relationship between Peter and Tiger Lily, which was turbulent to say the least.

Tiger Lily is a novel that you know from the beginning how it will end, but you can't help but hope that things will end differently. I was rooting for Tiger Lily and even saw Wendy as a threat. The writing will certainly captivate readers and leave them heartbroken in the end. If you enjoy fairy-tale adaptations and the changes won't bother you so much, you should certainly check this one out!

Jodi Lynn Anderson is the New York Times bestselling author of Peaches, The Secrets of Peaches, Love and Peaches, the popular May Bird trilogy, and Tiger Lily . She lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband and an endless parade of stray pets.